US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a video message on Thursday, November 5 vowing to fight efforts in Congress to impeach him and defending the war on Iran as “courageous and historic”, after voters punished Republicans over the war in this week's midterm elections, Reuters reported from Washington.
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The remarks, posted on social media, came as taunts from his foes in Congress intensified and President Donald Trump swatted away questions about whether he might fire Hegseth. The top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, asked in a post: “Why is Pete Hegseth still around?”
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“It won't work with me” — the video
In the more than four-minute video, Hegseth boasted about firing senior Pentagon leaders, ending diversity initiatives and banning transgender individuals from the military. “You see, they attack me – they attack us – because we are effective. It's not going to work. We will not back down,” he said to the camera. Calling the impeachment effort a “sham”, he said: “It's all about the politics of personal destruction. It didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me. You can rest assured of that.”
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Hegseth also appealed to “patriotic” lawmakers to pass a funding request that aims to help the Pentagon pay for the Iran war and other spending priorities. “Regardless of how people feel about the war, which I believe is a courageous and historic effort that will ensure Iran never gets nuclear weapons, we need to continue, as President Trump did in his first term, to rebuild our military,” he said.
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Trump backs him in public — sources say the chop is still possible
Trump on Thursday praised Hegseth when asked whether he expected any staffing changes, saying his defense secretary had “done a fantastic job” and suggesting the opposition to him was tied to his firing of generals. “We had so many generals. Everybody was a four-star general. I never saw anything like it. And many of those people were woke. I don't like a woke general. And so, he probably has opposition,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He also praised Hegseth's role in US military operations in Venezuela and Iran, and ABC News reported Trump said he has “every intention” of keeping him.
Source: Reuters via SRN News / ABC News via Washington Sun
But the public backing is not the whole story. Sources have said Trump could still replace Hegseth as Republicans assess their election losses, and one Trump adviser said Hegseth “could be on the chopping block” because of the Iran war, Reuters reported. On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance publicly questioned whether the Iran war was worth it and said it cost Republicans control of Congress. The Defense Department has said Hegseth is “100 percent committed” to leading the Pentagon until the end of Trump's term.
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Massie, the investigations — and what happens next
Republican Representative Thomas Massie promised to reintroduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth next week — as early as Monday, according to ABC News — warning that impeachment would be “much gentler” than what is in store for him once Republicans cede control of Congress next year. “They'll have hearings & trials,” Massie wrote on X. His eight articles, first introduced in September, accuse Hegseth of violating the Constitution and federal law, including by conducting military operations without congressional authorization and carrying out unlawful strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels — accusations Hegseth and the administration reject; the House never voted on the resolution after Speaker Mike Johnson cancelled the remaining floor votes before the midterm recess.
Source: Reuters via SRN News / Washington Sun
Democrats, who won control of Congress in Tuesday's elections, have promised to investigate Hegseth and his handling of the Pentagon, and congressional aides say that would include the firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among other issues. Hegseth could also face scrutiny over his Ukraine policy and US military strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in Latin American waters, which some Democrats say could amount to war crimes — an allegation, not a finding. Representative Adam Smith, the Democrat expected to lead the House Armed Services Committee next year, promised vigorous oversight on everything from the Iran war to what he called the erosion of the “apolitical foundation of the armed forces.” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told CBS on Tuesday night that Hegseth has “a reckoning” coming and that his strained relationship with lawmakers was undermining the administration's push for the $1.5 trillion defence spending package.
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What happens next: Massie's reintroduced resolution could force a House vote next week, but removing a cabinet secretary would still require conviction in the Senate. The bigger test comes in January, when the new Democratic-controlled Congress takes office with subpoena and investigation powers — while Trump decides in parallel whether to resume major combat operations against Iran, the war Hegseth sold and now defends. For the lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers across the Gulf, whether Washington's war leadership steadies or fractures matters directly: it shapes how long the Hormuz shipping crisis, high oil prices and the risk to Gulf jobs and flights home continue.
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A day earlier, Trump was asking advisers whether Hegseth — the Iran war's chief salesman — should stay at all, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis floated as a replacement. Read: Trump asked if Hegseth should stay after the midterm rout